Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

How to Be Married

by Polly Williams (Goodreads Author)

3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 · rating details · 74 ratings · 8 reviews

Sadie Drew thinks she must be the world’s worst wife. She only needs to walk into a room to make it untidy. She wears flannel pyjamas in bed. Furry things breed in her fridge. But she’s a busy working mother not a wifebot and husband Tom loves her as she is. Until he gets a hot new job and things change. There are alpha-wives to entertain. Nuclear rows. Unsettling secrets....more

Paperback, 376 pages

Published by Headline Review

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Fictional Florists

25th out of 32 books — 3 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 178)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jun 04, 2012 CriCra CriCra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: prestito

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. La moglie peggiore del mondo ( o no?)

La mia recensione sul Blog, SognandoLeggendo:
http://sognandoleggendo.net/blog/?p=1...

Alzi la mano, chi come me, è una donna sposata!?! Alzi la mano, chi come me, dopo un po di anni di routine familiare, entra in uno stato chiamiamolo apatico e di conseguenza, rifiuta un po tutto ciò che ci circonda e cerca di rifugiarsi in qualcosa di diverso o che magari, potrebbe dare un po di sollievo e serenità, guardando la propria vita con occhi diversi.

Forse tutto qu...more

like · see review

Mar 28, 2010 Chloe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-release, read-in-2010, arc

Sadie Drew thinks she’s the world’s worst wife. She doesn’t keep her home spotless, she’s a tad unorganised when it comes to paperwork and bills, and she’s not exactly fond of her mother-in-law either. However, she loves being a mum and wife to her husband Tom, and everything seems just okay as it is. That is until Tom gets a promotion at works and starts to change towards Sadie. Suddenly, he’s not happy with the Sadie of old and wants his wife to change so she mixes in better with the other hig...more Sadie Drew thinks she’s the world’s worst wife. She doesn’t keep her home spotless, she’s a tad unorganised when it comes to paperwork and bills, and she’s not exactly fond of her mother-in-law either. However, she loves being a mum and wife to her husband Tom, and everything seems just okay as it is. That is until Tom gets a promotion at works and starts to change towards Sadie. Suddenly, he’s not happy with the Sadie of old and wants his wife to change so she mixes in better with the other high-flying wives and makes him look good. Sadie’s devastated, and desperately wants to make Tom fall in love with her all over again. A chance meeting with Enid at the park might just be the answer to all of Sadie’s problems…

I’ve been a fan of Polly Williams’ books since I read and loved her debut novel The Rise and Fall of A Yummy Mummy good few years ago now, and since then I’ve made sure to read every book she has written. Her last novel, A Good Girl Comes Undone was fab but it was a few years ago, so I’ve been waiting a while for this one. It was scheduled for release a long while ago, but Polly changed publishers to Headline, and finally How To Be Married has hit the shelves. The gorgeous turquoise blue cover is a new look for Polly’s books, and I hope it wins her a new set of readers too.

I actually started the book as soon as I received it a couple of months ago because I was so eager to read it, and I wasn’t left disappointed. The book is written in the first person so we are in the head of lovely Sadie throughout the book, and see everything through her eyes. This works so well because we have to have sympathy for Sadie to make the book work, and through the writing style of Williams, we certainly get that. I loved Sadie straight away, she was a character that I could relate to and for once it was nice to see a housewife character who didn’t always keep a tidy home and wasn’t that bothered by the fact! Williams’ always writes realistic female characters, and Sadie is one of her best yet.

The various relationships that Sadie has throughout the book kept me hooked, and I loved how different they all were. I thnk a lot of women will be able to relate to the relationship of Sadie and her mother-in-law, and I loved how cringingly awkward it was written between the pair. Why can mothers-in-law never see their sons are ever wrong?! Sadie’s hubby Tom was quite unlikeable for the most part of the book, yet you can sort of understand where he’s coming from in a way. I liked the balance of this particular storyline, and I feel Williams’ captured the essence of their marriage perfectly.

My favourite part of the book was the scenes with Sadie and Enid at her lovely house where Sadie does her flowers (she’s a florist). In these scenes, I felt the character of Sadie came to life, and I loved the wisdom that this elderly character imparted on Sadie, whether she wanted it or not! There was a bit of a puzzle about her throughout the book and I couldn’t quite work it out, but it was nicely wrapped up in the end, and it was pretty emotional as well I have to say. The tenderness between the two strangers was incredibly touching, and I felt that Williams totally did this relationship the justice it deserved.

Relationships are probably the most written about thing in chick lit, but this book is fresh and totally had me absorbed right from the beginning. I loved the setting, I loved the characters but I also really enjoyed learning about floristry and flowers along the way too. Williams has clearly done her research into this profession because she writes about it with ease, and even someone who knows nothing about gardening and flowers (like me!) can enjoy it and imagine what is being written. It’s always fun to read about something realistic in a fiction book, and I always appreciate the effort these authors go to to make the reading experience believable and full of facts for us.

This book was definitely worth the wait and I loved every page of it. I think it’s definitely Polly’s best book to date and judging by how I have loved her previous book, it’s no mean feat! Yes, it is every so slightly predictable but I was enjoying the read so much I simply didn’t care that I could guess how it was all going to end. The relationships were so excellent to read, and the twists and turns along the way kept me hooked. It’s very well written, it has characters you can warm to and believe in, and most importantly, it’s just a fantastic read. I highly recommend it, it’s brilliant!(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 05, 2010 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fun book, which makes you think twice about how you treat one another in a relationship. Funny twists throught the book.

1 like · like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 Jeanette added it

really funny and sad in places. highly recommendable

like · see review

Feb 13, 2012 Karen Gooderham rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I loved this book, when I started it I could not put it down. Loved the main character Sadie who was just an everyday wife with an everyday life. This book does relate to real life in some places even though some things are a little bit far fetched. Also very witty in places, highly recommended book, will be looking for more books by Polly Williams and this is the first one I have read bu her.

like · see review

Sep 03, 2011 Mirela rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

May 05, 2013 Sarah Hird rated it 3 of 5 stars

Schmaltzy, good holiday reading though- amusing in sections- could relate to the character's perceived imperfections!

like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Shannon Maree rated it 3 of 5 stars

Quite a nice, easy read. Has a few lovely messages through it.

like · see review

May 19, 2013 0617510 marked it as to-read

May 17, 2013 Valerie marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Natália Gava added it

Apr 25, 2013 Julie marked it as to-read

Apr 21, 2013 Liz Ellisdon marked it as to-read

Apr 19, 2013 Katie Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-books

Apr 15, 2013 Veronica marked it as to-read

Shelves: contemporary

Apr 15, 2013 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 12, 2013 Georgina Rudd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 12, 2013 Danielle marked it as to-read

Apr 12, 2013 Ebony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 09, 2013 Andrea marked it as to-read

Apr 08, 2013 Maaike marked it as to-read

Apr 07, 2013 Sorcha O'Dowd marked it as to-read

Shelves: book-case-to-read

Apr 07, 2013 Elena Li marked it as to-read

Apr 02, 2013 Isla Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mar 17, 2013 Emma marked it as to-read

Mar 03, 2013 Aimee Skaggs rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feb 26, 2013 Pamela Principe-Angeles marked it as to-read

Shelves: chik-lit

Mar 09, 2013 Irene rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 16, 2013 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2013

Feb 08, 2013 Fred21 rated it 4 of 5 stars

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Genres

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

8 users

See top shelves...

About Polly Williams

I've written stories and poems since I was a kid, and am delighted that making up stories is now my 'proper job.' Before I started writing fiction, I was a journalist - I still freelance for magazines and newspapers - but I always planned to write a book 'one day'. My moment came after the birth of my first child. I thought, shit, it's now or never! That sense of urgency - and my experiences as a...more

More about Polly Williams...

Books by Polly Williams

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About How to Be Married

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: How to Be Married
avg rating	preview: How to Be Married Goodreads rating: 3.49 (74 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6792906-how-to-be-married?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1269782349l/6792906.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6792906-how-to-be-married?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]How to Be Married by Polly Williams[/url]

How to Be Married

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Genres

About Polly Williams

Books by Polly Williams

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About How to Be Married

new topic
Discuss This Book